Which factors have stronger explanatory power for primary wind dispersal distance of winged diaspores:the case of Zygophyllum xanthoxylon(Zygophyllaceae)?

Aims How seed dispersal distance is related to various factors is a major challenge for seed ecologists.However,there are different answers as to which factor is most important in determining wind dispersal distance.This study is to quantitatively describe the relationship between various factors and primary wind dispersal distance of winged diaspores.Methods The dispersal distances of five morphologies of winged diaspores in Zygophyllum xanthoxylum(Zygophyllaceae)were measured under controlled conditions in a wind tunnel.The explanatory power of environmental factor(i.e.wind speed),plant trait(i.e.release height)and diaspore attributes(i.e.wing loading(the ratio of diaspore mass to projected area),settlement-velocity,shape index(the variance of diaspore length,width and thickness))to the variation in dispersal distance was assessed by releasing diaspores at varying wind speeds and release heights.Important Findings Wind speed and seed release height were the strongest explanatory factors to dispersal distance,contributing 41.1%and 24.8%(P<0.01)to total variation in dispersal distance,respectively.Wind speed accounted more for relatively light disc-shaped seeds than for relatively heavy spherical seeds.Wing loading,shape index and settlement-velocity explained 9.0%(P<0.01),1.4%(P<0.01)and 0.9%(not significant)of the variation in dispersal distance,respectively.From disc-shaped to four-winged diaspores,relative contributions of wing loading and shape index decreased but contribution of settlementvelocity increased.The relative contributions of various factors to wind seed dispersal distance may change with the change in seed morphology.

Influencing Factors of Seed Long-distance Dispersal on a Fragmented Forest Landscape on Changbai Mountains,China

Seed long-distance dispersal(LDD) events are typically rare, but are important in the population processes that determine large-scale forest changes and the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. However, previous studies focused on species dispersed via animal-mediated LDD, and ignored those dispersed by wind. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of canopy openness, edge, seed source, and patch tree density on the LDD of seeds by wind in forest. We collected birch seeds, a typical wind-dispersed species, throughout a larch plantation. We then assessed the relationship between birch LDD and each factor that may influence LDD of seeds by wind including distance to edge, canopy openness size, distance to mature forest, and the tree density of the larch plantation. We used univariate linear regression analysis to assess the influence of those factors on birch LDD, and partial correlations to calculate the contribution of each factor to LDD. The results showed that both canopy openness and edge had significant influences on birch LDD. Specifically, a negative relationship was observed between distance to edge and birch LDD, whereas there was a positive correlation between canopy openness size and LDD. In contrast, the distance to the mature forest was not correlated with birch LDD. Our results suggest that patch tree density could potently affect the probability of LDD by wind vectors, which provides novel and revealing insights regarding the effect of fragmentation on wind dynamics. The data also provide compelling evidence for the previously undocumented effect of habitat fragmentation on wind-dispersed organisms. As such, these observations will facilitate reasonable conservation planning, which requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which patch properties hamper the delivery of seeds of wind-dispersed plants to fragmented areas.